Lacrosse Firestorm Read Free

Michael tossed the ball back and forth the rest of the way down the field. Garry ended up with it close to the goal
     and rocketed a shot into the net. Then he retrieved the ball and returned to the end of his line. To his relief, he had a
     different partner the next time around.
    After fifteen minutes, the coach called them together. “Another team is taking over the field soon. What do you say to a little
     six-on-six scrimmage in the time we have left?”
    The Rockets were all in favor, so Coach Hasbrouck split them into two teams. Garryhad Todd, Conor, Brandon, Pedro, and Andrew on his side; playing against them were Michael, Jeff, Carl, Evan, Eric, and Samuel.
     Christopher, the team’s starting goalkeeper, volunteered to referee with the coach.
    Garry headed to the center X for the face-off. Michael stood opposite him. He gave Garry a lazy grin.
    “Well, this is going to be a piece of cake,” he drawled. “Even if you do get the ball before me, you’ll drop it, like you’ve
     been dropping balls all practice!”
    Garry flushed a deep red. He had a sarcastic retort on the tip of his tongue, but then he remembered what Jeff had said about
     dog doo. So as difficult as it was, he kept his mouth shut.
    The coach appeared then and put the ball on the ground between the two boys. “Ready?”
    Garry put in his mouth guard and squatteddown. He held his stick parallel to and almost touching the ground, right hand near the throat, left hand midway down the
     shaft. His muscles tensed with anticipation. “Ready, Coach,” he answered.
    Michael crouched down too, and grunted his readiness to the coach.
    “At my signal, then. And make it look good,” Coach Hasbrouck added with a grin. “The next team is here already. Let’s show
     them what they’ll be up against when they play us tomorrow!” He stepped back out of the way and gave a blast on his whistle.
    Garry moved fast, but Michael moved faster. He clamped his stick over the ball and raked it backward with one swift move.
     The ball flew over the grass behind him and right into the pocket of Evan’s stick.
    Evan scooped up the ball and fed it back to Michael. Michael made a nice over-the-shoulder catch and took off down the field,stick held high and twisting in his hands to keep the ball secure in the pocket.
    “Take it away!” Evan cried.
    Don’t mind if I do, Evan
, Garry thought as he chased Michael down the field. He leveled his stick and poke-checked the shaft of the other boy’s stick.
     The jab was just strong enough to pop the ball free — and just unexpected enough to catch Michael off guard. Garry was heading
     in the opposite direction with the ball before Michael could even turn around.
    Evan started toward Garry but Garry whirled away and made for the sideline. He intended to streak down the line and then cut
     in toward the goal. But Jeff charged him, matching him step for step while trying to edge him out-of-bounds.
    “Here!” Pedro called from midfield.
    Garry flung the ball to him with a quickdownward slash of his stick. Pedro caught it just as Samuel reached him.
    “Ball!” Samuel yelled to let his teammates know that he was covering Pedro. He shadowed the fleet-footed attackman for several
     yards.
    But then Pedro stopped short. Samuel took a few steps more before realizing his man was no longer next to him. Pedro, meanwhile,
     found Conor cutting across the field.
    Conor snagged the ball out of the air. He and Pedro switched places so that he was now carrying the ball down the middle of
     the field.
    Garry ran parallel to his teammates. When Conor got into trouble, he was ready to receive his pass.
    But Eric, playing defense, guessed that Conor would feed the ball to Garry. He slid in front of Garry just as Conor threw.
Fwap!
The ball stuck in Eric’s pocket instead of Garry’s, and suddenly the tide had turned again.
    Eric hurled the ball to Jeff, who relayed it to Michael.
    “Back!” Jeff yelled, looking for a return pass.
    But